The Good
The worldwide EB-3 category (professionals, skilled and unskilled workers) advances 6 weeks creating the shortest backlog in this category in several years.

For persons born in China, the EB-2 numbers (for advanced-degree professionals) jump ahead by an entire year! EB-3 China advances by 4 months.

For persons born in India, the EB-2 category leaps ahead by 5 ½ months while the EB-3 numbers inch forward by a single week.

The Bad
The worldwide family-based categories barely advance while the FB-2B (unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents) and FB-3 (married sons and daughters of US citizens) numbers remain frozen.

For persons born in Mexico, most of the family-based categories advance either 1 week or not at all. In some of these categories, the waiting times exceed 20 years. The same is true for persons born in the Philippines.

The EB-5 investor category for persons born in China, which retrogressed 2 years in May, fails to move forward in June.

The Ugly
For persons born in Mexico who were sponsored by their US citizen brothers and sisters 18 years ago, the wait lengthens by 4 ½ months. This is a good example of how our legal immigration system is broken.

But what is much worse is the Philippines FB-1 category for unmarried adult sons and daughters of US citizens. In June, the present 10-year wait will lengthen to 15 years!

And finally, have pity for Filipinos in the EB-3 category (nurses, accountants, engineers, etc.). In May, their waiting times increased from 7 months to 7 years. (No, this is not a typo!). And in June, their waiting times will increase again, this time to 10 years.

Coming Attractions
Remember that as the federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) approaches its end, waiting times have a tendency to increase. This year, there are increasing earlier than usual.

However, do not despair. When the October Visa Bulletin is released, the outlook is bound to improve, at least to an extent.

If only Congress would take action to fix our broken immigration system, but that would probably be asking too much…

On May 26, the USCIS will begin accepting applications for form I-765 Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) submitted by certain H-4 spouses of H-1B professionals.What follows is a list of answers to 10 of the most frequently asked questions about this new policy:

1. Which H-4 spouses are eligible for EADs?H-4 spouses of H-1B professionals with approved I-140 visa petitions or who is the beneficiary of a PERM application or an I-140 which was filed at least 365 days before the expiration of his or her 6-year limitation of stay as an H-1B nonimmigrant. If the PERM application was approved, the I-140 must have been filed with the USCIS within 180 days.

2. What forms do I need to file?File form I-765 with proof of your H-4 status, show that your spouse is in H-1B status and has an approved I-140 or that a PERM application or I-140 was filed over 1 year before the ending of the 6th year of the H-1B. The filing fee is $380. If you are filing for an H-4 extension, you may apply for an EAD concurrently.3. How long will my EAD be valid?Be sure to request that your EAD last for as long as your H-4 status is valid.

4. Are there any limits on my employment?No, you can work in any type of lawful employment. You can even work for multiple employers if you wish. You can change jobs at any time. You can start your own business. You can stop working at any time. You can work as a salaried employee, an hourly employee or a contractor.

5. What if my spouse and I are both in H-1B status? Can I change to H-4 status and request an EAD at the same time?Yes, as long as you meet the eligibility requirements discussed in Question #1 above. Your employer will probably be delighted not to have to submit and pay for an H-1B extension for you.

7. How long will it take for me to receive an EAD?An EAD should be issued within 90 days. However, if you are applying for an H-4 and an EAD simultaneously, the waiting time will be longer.

8. What if my spouse no longer works for the employer who filed his/her approved I-140?This fact alone should not prevent you from obtaining an EAD. A 2000 law commonly referred to as AC-21 permits a person in H-1B status with an approved I-140 and a pending I-485 to change employers after his/her I-485 has been pending for 180 days or more as long as his/her new job is in the same or a similar occupation. No new PERM or I-140 is required. However, even if this is not the case, you will still be permitted to obtain an EAD. Your spouse will be able to retain the old priority date, but his/her new employer may have to file a new PERM application and an I-140 visa petition.

9. Can I use premium processing to apply for an EAD? Can I file my application online? Is it possible for an H-4 child of a parent in H-1B status to apply for an EAD?The answer is no to each of these questions.

10. Approximately how many H-4 spouses will be able to qualify for EADs?The USCIS estimates up to 179,600 H-4 spouses will be eligible to apply for EADs during the first year of this program, and 55,000 in each subsequent year. The new program does not distinguish between cap-subject and cap-exempt H-1Bs.

During the first week of April, the USCIS received 233,000 H-1B petitions from companies in the US seeking to employ foreign-born professional workers. This exceeds the number of H-1B petitions received last year by over 60,000. Under current law, only 85,000 of these petitions can be approved, about 36%.

Most of the other 64% of these petitions will be returned to disappointed employers. Computer professionals, physicians, teachers, researchers and many others will have to find jobs abroad. If they are in the US, most will be forced to return to their home countries.

Congress has faced this problem in the past and resolved it by increasing the H-1B quota. In January 2013, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the “I-Squared” bill which would do just that.

However, Congress is stalemated on this and many other immigration issues.

The Chairmen of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Immigration Subcommittee oppose this legislation and are focused on tightening loopholes in the H-1B program. Many of their concerns are valid. When a few companies use H-1B workers to displace US workers, I think we can all agree that this is wrong, and that the law needs to be changed to prevent this from happening.

But why can’t the H-1B cap be raised and loopholes in the law be closed at the same time? This would be a reasonable compromise and Congress is supposed to adapt at the art of compromise, especially when the H-1B program is clearly in the our national interest.

Smart, well-educated foreign-born scientists worked for the Manhattan Project and helped save many thousands of American lives in World War II. More recently, foreign-born professionals were responsible for developing the anti-HIV cocktail and founding major US employers like Google, Yahoo, Intel and providing jobs for hundreds of thousands of American workers.

It’s time for Congress to get its house in order and pass H-1B legislation.

H-1B Lottery

Outside the world of Congress, on April 13, the USCIS selected the 85,000 lucky H-1B lottery winners. However, it will be some time before they are notified.

The USCIS will begin to adjudicate H-1B cap-subject cases where the employers paid an extra fee for premium processing starting on April 27. Then, by May 12, these employers will receive approvals, denials or requests for additional evidence on these cases.

After this, USCIS will begin to adjudicate non-premium processing H-1B petitions. This process will probably continue until August.

Most H-1B professionals for whom petitions are approved by the USCIS will be able to start work on October 1, 2015 although students with OPT will be able to continue their employment throughout the summer if H-1B petitions are approved on their behalf.

Employers can expect that by sometime in June, they will receive back their H-1B petitions as well as refunds of filing fees for petitions which were not selected in the lottery.

Recently, the Defense Department greatly expanded a program which allows certain persons holding temporary visas to bypass the green card process and apply directly for US citizenship.

The MAVNI (Military Accession Vital to National Interest) program was started in 2008 to recruit persons with medical skills (Certain physicians and nurses, etc.) or with special language skills into to the US military. Most of these persons have to be present in the US in temporary visa status. Once they complete their basic training, they are immediately eligible to apply for naturalization.

MAVNI has strict numerical limits. However, the numbers were recently increased from 1,500 to 3,000 per year and will increase again in fiscal year 2016 (which starts October 1, 2015) to 5,000 year per year.

The government recently announced that it would accept applications from persons with DACA work permits. Also, persons with TPS, physicians who had not received a J waiver and asylees/refugees are eligible to apply. Caveat: Spanish is not one of the languages on the MAVNI list.

Eligible individuals can enlist for a 3-year contractual active duty tour or for 6 years in the Selected Reserve.

If a person naturalizes, but fails to complete the above requirements, their US citizenship can be revoked.